Loom for weaving pile fabrics



March 7, 1961 o. JLPARK ETAL LOOM FOR WEAVING PILE FABRICS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 4, 1959 INVENTORS 022m JDARK a PE NMAN ATTORNEY HUQL.

March 7, 1961 o. J. PARK ETAL 2,973,785

LOOM FOR WEAVING PILE FABRICS Filed June 4, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 AT TO 2 HEY March 7,1961 0. J. PARK EAL 2,973,785

LOOM FOR WEAVING PILE FABRICS Filed June 4, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 022M .1 AE- Hum. W. PENMAN TTQEMEY March 7, 1961 o. J. PARK ETAL 2,973,785

LOOM FOR WEAVING PILEI FABRICS Filed June 4, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 The IO INVENTOR.

(322m J. PAEK HUZL W. PE NMAN AT TO IZM EY Unitfid States LOOM FOR WEAVING PILE FABRICS Orrin J. Park and Hurl W. Penman, Bloomsburg, Pa., as-

signors to The Magee Carpet Company, Bloomsburg, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed June 4, 1959, Ser. No. 818,057

14 Claims. (Cl. 139-46) This invention relates to looms for weaving pile fabrics and more particularly to looms that employ longitudinal gauge wires over which the pile warps are carried to and fro to form loops.

it is an object of the invention to provide a loom having longitudinal gauge wires provided with inclined shoulders along their upper edges and needle arms for carrying pile yarns back and forth across the gauge wires and down between the gauge wires in an arcuate path, the gauge wires being adjustable longitudinally to position the shoulders to intercept the pile yarns at different points along the path of movement of the pile yarns to form loops of various heights.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a loom having an oscillating and reciprocating needle bar having a series of needle arms for carrying the pile yarns back and forth and down between gauge wires having inclined shoulders along their upper edges, the gauge wires being selectively adjustable to position the shoulders to intercept the pile yarns at different points along the path of movement of the pile yarns when the needle arms swing downwardly between the gauge wires.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing reciprocating means having solenoid operated latches for selectively connecting the reciprocating means to the gauge wires whereby the selected gauge wires are moved longitudinally of the fabric to position the loop forming shoulders forward of the shoulders of the nonselected gauge wires.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the loop forming mechanism applied to a loom,

Fig. l-A is a warpwise section of a fabric woven on the loom,

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2, V

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the gauge wires,

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified adjusting mechanism for the gauge wires including locking means for holding the wires in retracted'position,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged side view of one of the locking levers in locking position,

Fig. 9 is a view like Fig. 8 showing the locking lever in released position, and,

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the locking levers in locked position.

In the drawings, the numeral 5 denotes the main frame of a loom having a cross bar 6 supporting a pair of transverse vertically spaced slide rails 7 for mounting a re ciprocating bar 8. Reciprocating movement is imparted Patented Mar. 7, 1961 attached to cam is connected by an endless chain 18 with sprocket'wheel 19 fixedly mounted on shaft 20 which is operated by the drive mechanism of the loom.

An oscillating shaft 21 is mounted forwardly of the bar 8 being supported in bearings 22 carried by the bar. A series of hangers 23 are fixedly mounted on shaft 21 and support the needle bar 24 from which depend a series of spaced needle arms 25 removably secured to needle bar 24 by clamping bars 26 and 27. The needle arms at their free ends are provided with apertures 28 to receive the pile yarns 29 leading from a source of supply, the yarns being trained over a guide rod 30 above the needle arms. A crank arm 31 fixedly connected to one end of shaft 21 is connected by a Heim bearing 32 to one end of a connecting arm 33 having its opposite end pivotally connected to a rocker arm 34 having a cam follower 35 which travels in the cam track of a cam wheel 36 mounted on shaft 20. Upon rotation of shaft 20 the rocker arm '34 imparts a vertical reciprocating motion to connecting arm 33 which through the crank arm 31 oscillates shaft 21 to swing the needle arms up and down in an arcuate path.

7 The ground warps 37, of the fabric being woven, are threaded through the eyes 38 of the heddles 39 which are operated by suitable mechanism for shedding the warps so that they may be interwoven with the weft threads 40 inserted by the usual needle 41. Disposed above the plane of the ground warps are a series of gauge wires 42 extending in a direction warpwise of the fabric in spaced parallel relation. The gauge Wires are mounted for sliding movement in a warpwise direction being pro vided with vertically extended hangers 43, intermediate their length, which are seated in grooves in a bar 44 secured by studs 45 to the lower edge of cross bar 6. The hangers 43 have angular lugs 46 with an inclined lower edge in bearing engagement with the inclined face of a clamping plate 47 attached to cross bar 6 for holding the hangers seated in the grooves of bar 44 while permitting free longitudinal movement of the gauge wires. The forward end of the gauge wires has a high and low portion 48 and 49 connected by an inclined shoulder 50 disposed in the path of movement of the free ends of the needle arms 25, so that when the needle arms swing downward between the gauge wires the yarns carried, thereby are intercepted and held by the shoulders to form loops;

The shoulders 50 are disposed inside the arcuate path of movement of the free ends of the needle arms and by longitudinal adjustment of the gauge wires the shoulders can be positioned to intercept the yarns at different points along the down stroke of the needle arms and therebyv the angle bars by studs 55. Cross bars 56 extend between the angle bars beneath the gauge wires having grooves 57 in their upper face to receive and support'the gauge wires. The plate 51 supports a series of solenoids 58,

which are arranged in longitudinal rows in stepped rela-f tron, there being one solenoid for each of the gauge-wires.-

The solenoids are mounted on the upper surface of plate 51 in a vertical position and the armature 59 of each solenoid has a pin 60 projecting from its lower end which extends through an aperture 61 in the plate for engagement with a notch 62 formed in the upper edge of the end portion 53 of the gauge wire. Each end of the notch 62 has oppositely bent tongues 63 for retaining the pin 60 in the notch. An adjusting screw 64 attached to the upper end of the armature mounts an expansion spring 65 which normally raises the armature to retract the pin 60. A bracket 66 attached to the solenoid has an angular extension 67 disposed above the upper end of screw 64 to limit the upward movement of the solenoid.

The plate 51 is held in a retracted position by coil springs 68 at each end of the plate having one end attached to the top surface of the plate, as at 69, and their opposite end connected to a screw 70 mounted in the rail 54. A hanger 71 attached to the bottom surface of plate 51, at each end, pivotally supports one end 72 of a connecting rod 73 having its opposite end 74 pivotally connected to a rock lever 75 pivotally mounted at one of the pivot points 76, which lever is operated by suitable mechanism, in timed relation to the operation of the loom, to move the plate in a forward direction. The solenoids 58 are connected to electric circuits opera-ted by a pattern control circuit making and breaking mechanism to selectively energize the solenoids.

Figs. 7-10 disclose a locking mechanism for holding the gauge wires 42 in a retracted position comprising a lock lever 80, pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on one side of the gauge wire by a pivot pin 81. One end of lever 80 is disposed beneath the tongues 63 bent outwardly from the ends of notch 62 and has an upwardly extending lug 82 normally held in a raised position between the tongues by a tension spring 83 mounted on pivot pin 81. The lug 82 is disposed in the path of movement of a pin 84 extending from the armature 85 of a solenoid 86, the pin being normally held in a raised position, free from the notch 62 of the gauge wire, by a spring 87 mounted on the pin within the solenoid. The solenoids are mounted on plate 51 which is held retracted by coil springs 68 and is moved forward upon actuation of lever 75. In lieu of the cross bars 56 a series of cross bars 88 extend beneath the gauge wires in spaced apart relation with the front bar 89 having an upstanding rib 96 along its forward edge having slots 91 to receive and guide the gauge wires. The lower end of lever 80 is formed with a heel 91 adapted to engage the rear end of a cross bar 88 when the gauge wire is fully retracted. When a solenoid is selected by the pattern control and energized the pin 84 descends into the notch 62 of the gauge wire and upon contact with lug 82 rocks lever 80 to raise heel 91 above the top of the cross bar thereby releasing the gauge wire so that it can move forward upon actuation of plate 51 in a forward direction. The gauge wires not selected by the pattern control will be held against accidental movement by the lock levers which remain in engagement with the cross bars until released by energizing of the solenoids.

In operation, the heddles 39 are operated to raise and lower the ground warps 37 to form a shed below the level of the gauge wires 42. With the plate 51 in retracted position, the shoulders 50 of the gauge wires are in weftwise alignment but upon forward movement of the plate the gauge wires which have been connected with the plate by projection of the pins 60 upon energizing of the solenoids 58 will be moved forward, thereby advancing the shoulders of these wires in front of the shoulders of the wires that are not moved forward. With the wires in selected position shaft 21 is oscillated to swing the needle arms 25 downwardly between the gauge wires to carry the pile yarns down into the ground warps. As the arms swing downwardly the yarns 29 move in an arcuate path and are intercepted by the shoulders 50 to form loops 7 which will be of different heights depending on whether the gauge wire has been advanced or not. When the needle arms reach the end of their down stroke a double weft shot is inserted in the shed by the usual needle 41, the needle arms are then swung upwardly above the gauge wires and the Wefts are heat into the ground warps by the rec 77. With the needle arms raised above the gauge wires the bar 6 is reciprocated to shift the needle arms to the opposite side of the gauge wires before they are again swung downwardly. Thus, it is seen the pile warps are carried to and fro across the gauge wires forming rows of loops the height of which is determined by the point at which the warps are intercepted by the shoulders of the gauge wires which may be changed by selectively shifting the position of the gauge wires. The fabric being woven is moved forward by the usual take-up roll advancing the loops along the forward low portion 49 of the gauge wires.

To insure against accidental forward movement of the nonelected gauge wires, the wires may be equipped with lock levers 842, as disclosed in Figs. 7-l0, which levers are normally held in engagement with cross bars Upon selection of a gauge wire to be moved forward, by energizing a solenoid 86, the pin 84 upon entering the notch 62 of the gauge wire will actuate the lock lever St; to release the gauge wire so it is free to move forward upon actuation of plate 51 in a forward direction.

It is to be understood the form of invention herein shown and described is a preferred example of the same and changes in the shape, size and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

I. in a loom for weaving pile fabrics comprising a series of gauge wires slidably mounted above the fabric being woven for movement in a warpwise direction, a series of needle arms mounted above said gauge wires for oscillating movement in an arcuate path parallel to the gauge wires for carrying the pile yarns into the fabric being woven, means for shifting said needle arms bacl. and forth across said gauge wires, said gauge wires having inclined shoulders to intercept the pile yarns when the needle arms swing downwardly, a reciprocating member disposed above the rear ends of said gauge wires and movable longitudinally of the wires and means carried by said reciprocating member for selectively connecting said gauge wires to said member whereby the selected gauge wires are moved to adjust the inclined shoulders to a different position along the path of movement of said needle arms.

In a loom for weaving pile fabrics comprising a series of gauge wires slidably mounted above the fabric being woven for movement in a warpwise direction, means for carrying the pile yarns back and forth across said gauge wires and down into the fabric being woven, said gauge wires having shoulders along their upper edge disposed in the path of movement of the pile yarns to intercept the pile yarns to form loops, a member slidably mounted above the rear ends of said gauge wires for movement longitudinally of the gauge wires, means for reciprocating said member and latches carried by said member operable to selectively connect said gauge wires to said member.

3. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics as described in claim 2 including solenoids for operating said latches.

4. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics comprising a series of gauge wires slidably mounted above the fabric being woven for movement in a warpwise direction, means for carrying the pile yarns back and forth across said gauge wires and down into the fabric in an arcuate path, said gauge wires having shoulders along their upper edge disposed in the path of movement of the pile yarns to intercept the pile yarns to form loops, means mounted above and movable longitudinally of said gauge wires for shifting said gauge wires longitudinally to adjust the shoulders along the path of movement of the pile yams,

and means carried by said shifting means for selectively connecting said gauge wires to said shifting means.

5. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics as described in claim 4 wherein said last-mentioned means are solenoid actuated latches.

6. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics comprising a series of gauge wires slidably mounted above the fabric being woven for movement in a warpwise direction, means for carrying the pile yarns back and forth across said gauge wires and down into the fabric in an arcuate path,

said gauge wires having shoulders along their upper edge disposed in the path of movement of the pile yarns to intercept the yarns to form loops, a plate slidably mounted above the rear ends of said gauge wires for movement longitudinally of the wires, means for reciprocating said plate, a series of plungers slidably mounted in said plate for engagement in notches in the upper edge of said gauge wires, and solenoids for selectively actuating said plungers to connect said plate and selected gauge wires whereby movement of the plate will adjust the wires to change the position of their shoulders in the path of movement of the pile yarns.

7. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics comprising a series of adjustable gauge wires extending warpwise of the fabric being woven, said wires having inclined shoulders in their upper edges, means for carrying the pile yarns back and forth across the gauge wires forward of the shoulders and downwardly between the wires in an arcuate path whereby the pile yarns are intercepted by the shoulders of said wires to form loops, means for selectively moving said gauge wires to change the position of the shoulders in the path of movement of the pile yarns, and means carried by said gauge wires for locking the non-selected gauge wires against movement.

8. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics as described in claim 6 including a series of cross bars beneath said gauge wires and pivoted lock levers mounted on said gauge wires having one end normally engaged with said cross bars to hold the gauge wires against movement, the opposite end of said levers being actuated by said plungers to release the levers from engagement with the cross bars.

9. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics as described in claim 7 including means for releasing said locking means of the selected gauge wires.

10. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics comprising a series of gauge wires, a supporting bar extending across and above said wires, hangers intermediate the ends of said wires slidably suspending the wires from said supporting bar above the fabric being woven for independent movement in a warpwise direction, a series of needle arms mounted above said gauge wires for oscillating movement in an arcuate path parallel to the gauge wires for carrying the pile yarns into the fabric being woven, means for shifting said needle arms back and forth across said gauge wires in a straight weftwise direction, said gauge wires having inclined shoulders in their upper edges to intercept carried by said moving means for selectively connecting said gauge wires to said moving means shoulders to a different position along the arcuate path of movement of the pile warps upon movement of said moving means.

11. In a loom for Weaving pile fabrics as described in claim 10 including spring means normally holding said moving means in a retracted position.

12. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics as described in claim 10 wherein said last mentioned means are solenoid actuated latches for connecting said moving means to said gauge wires.

13. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics comprising a series of gauge wires slidably mounted above the fabric being woven for movement in a warpwise direction, means for carrying the pile yarns back and forthacross said gauge wires and down into the fabric in an arcuate path, said gauge wires having inclined shoulders along their upper edges disposed in the path of movement of the pile yarns to intercept the yarns to form loops, means slidably mounted above the rear ends of said wires for movement longitudinally of said wires, a series of selectively operated plungers carried by said means for selectively connecting said gauge wires to said means, and lock levers carried by said gauge wires to retain said wires against movement in one direction, said lock levers being released upon operation of said plungers to connect the selected gauge wires to said means.

14. In a loom for weaving pile fabrics comprising a series of gauge wires slidably mounted above the fabric being woven for movement in a warpwise direction, means for carrying the pile yarns back and forth across said gauge wires and down into the fabric in an arcuate path, said gauge wires having inclined shoulders along their upper edges disposed in the path of movement of the pile yarns to intercept the yarns to form loops, a slidable member above the rear ends of said gauge wires movable in a warpwise direction, plungers carried by said member movable into engagement with notches formed in the upper edges of said gauge wires, means for selectively operating said plungers, and tongues bent outwardly from the ends of said notches to retain the plungers in engagement with said notches.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS whereby said selected gauge wires are moved to adjust the inclined; 

